ArtLife

ArtLife is intended to be a reflection of my pursuit of excellence in photography, cooking, and writing.
I said pursuit, not arrival!

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Balcony Gardening

After many years of trying to grow plants inside, I finally (since our move last year) have access to a balcony. It has been difficult not to make the entire balcony a garden; I promised Barbara that there would still be room for outdoor dining. As the balcony is very small, I tried to confine most of my activity to 2 75cm x 25cm planter boxes as well as a similar shelf for assorted pots.With the whole affair facing ESE the results have been, well, staggering! There are DAILY changes to every plant.Since I cannot grow everything, I decided to try only flowering plants that I've never grown before in one of the planters, and herbs that we use every day in the other (mint, basil, marjoram, greek oregano, silver thyme, garlic chives, and variegated sage). It is a tremendous pleasure to step out and harvest fresh herbs for every meal.All gardeners are keen to try something new. For my 'total crazy' I bought a Chinese luffa plant.Sure, I know the fruit can grow to 2m long, but I'll harvest them at about 15cm!